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WHAT’S UP WESTSIDE ..................PAGE 2 HEAT WAVE ......................................PAGE 3 HELPING HAITI ................................PAGE 4 CRIME WATCH ..................................PAGE 8 MYSTERY PHOTO ............................PAGE 9
TUESDAY
01.30.18 Volume 17 Issue 62
@smdailypress
@smdailypress
Santa Monica Daily Press
Santa Monica sees 12 percent spike in crime
smdp.com
Union picketing JW Marriott hotel on Ocean Avenue
Matthew Hall
UNION: A local hotel has been accused of stifling union organization efforts.
KATE CAGLE Daily Press Staff Writer Matthew Hall
CRIME: Property crimes account for most of the reported increase in the last year but there has also been an increase in assaults.
KATE CAGLE Daily Press Starr Writer
Santa Monica saw a 12 percent increase in serious crime in 2017, with 5,076 “Part 1” incidents, which include murder, arson, burglary, assault and grand theft auto. The spike follows a 5.5 percent increase in the same crimes in 2016. “We hope that it’s leveled out,” said Lt. Saul Rodriguez with the Santa Monica Police Department, who attributed the increase to legislative changes like Propositions 47 and 57, which reduced sentences for petty theft and drug offenses and allowed parole for nonviolent felons. “We know what our problems are and how to continue to tackle these problems, like property crime.” Similar to the year before, property crime has driven much of the increase,
with 86 percent of serious incidents related to theft. In many cases, items are stolen from cars parked on streets, in private garages or in public lots. Rodriguez said the city is in the process of improving the security cameras inside parking structures to deter smash-and-grab break-ins downtown but simply hiding items can help prevent thefts of opportunity. There was also a 3.8 percent increase in violent crime year over year, a statistic which includes homicide, rape, robbery and assault. Rodriguez said there were 407 assaults in 2017, up from 244 the year prior. The department does not have a definitive reason for the increase. “I don’t know,” Rodriguez said. While law enforcement continues to blame legislative changes on increasing crime rates, SEE CRIME PAGE 5
The National Labor Relations Board has filed a complaint against J.W. Marriott Santa Monica Le Merigot Hotel on SEE UNION PAGE 7
Lawsuit seeks to stop big California homeless camp shutdown Associated Press
A religious organization that serves the poor in Southern California filed a lawsuit Monday to try to stop local governments from forcing homeless people out of a big encampment along a riverbed trail. SEE HOMELESS PAGE 11
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